[efoods]Senator John F. Kerry today helped launch a new initiative to educate lawmakers and the public about the security threats posed by climate change, part of the Massachusetts Democrat’s efforts to build support for legislation to curb carbon emissions.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was the keynote speaker at a symposium co-sponsored by the American Security Project, a bipartisan nonprofit established in Washington last year.

The organization, with a mission to educate the public about 21st century security threats, will unveil a new report, the Climate Security Index, that spells out how famine, water shortages, and other predicted consequences of climate change could increase terrorism and spark new wars if left unchecked.